Conclusion

There are many things we can learn from the history of the University District that might apply to other urban areas. We have observed that colleges have an obvious tendency to dramatically increase the demand for affordable housing in an area. As a society, we should be taking this into account when planning new schools and the city infrastructure that surrounds them. As we saw in the 1970s, there was a large expansion in the number of students at the university; since then, the school and city have never quite been able to get ahead of the growing need for housing. This issue clearly continues today. In addition, we have seen the beneficial role that public transportation can play in fostering a healthy community. The increased mobility made possible by affordable transportation allows for greater economic activity in an area, particularly for lower income individuals. Projects like the light rail are definitely something worth investing in as we shift away from a automobile-centered urban setting. If we take the history of urban areas into account, I believe we will do a much better job at city development going forward.